One word describes this debut EP by Chicago foursome Beak: brutal. Five songs, no filler, all sorts of post-metal power not heard of since the battle flag of Neurosis was picked up by Boston natives Isis and later Cult of Luna. Through these 25 minutes of light and shade, by turns entrancing and pounding, it's clear that these cats know exactly what they're doing. The second half of opener "Angry Mother of Bones" features delicate guitar work reminiscent of Metallica's "To Live Is To Die," then it all comes hurtling back to heaviness. Listening to it is probably akin to what it feels like to be one of those crash-test dummies going through a windshield. The centerpiece of Eyrie is "Men at Arms," which initially sounds like something Tool might come up with before it gets 10 times heavier than anything Maynard and Co. would think up on their best day. At the 2:23 mark, the track gets crazy devastating through a hybrid of sludge, metal, and hardcore. Equally destructive is closer "The Weight and Time," which signals the only downside — the end comes too soon. Then again, maybe it's best to take this intensity in small doses.

Various Artists | Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010 The notion that regional musical flavors exist independently in American cities is quickly becoming an archaic truism, seeing as how the world really is a stage these days, at least in the digital sense.

Avi Buffalo | Avi Buffalo Look, I get it: the last thing we need right now is yet another band who can be described as “sun-baked,” “reverb-soaked,” or even just “psychedelic.” But Avi Buffalo (I know! An animal name to boot!) are worth your attention for a few reasons.

Lamb Of God | Resolution Lamb of God, like the actual lamb of God, have existed seemingly for the purpose of expiating sins — in this case, the sins of baggy-pants late-'90s groove metal.

The All-American Rejects | Kids In The Street The All-American Rejects began life as an emo-scarred keyboard-pop band and gradually smoothed out their rough edges (or, rather, gave in to their '70s and '80s rock tendencies) on earworms such as "Gives You Hell" and "Move Along."

The Soundtrack of Our Lives | Throw It To the Universe While many Britpop fans spent the late 90s onward hoping with that Oasis would pull something out of the cabinet that came close to Definitely Maybe or (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, they should've been expanding their sonic range farther west to Sweden, where the Soundtrack of Our Lives have been rolling out some of the genre's finest compositions.

Review: In Search of Beethoven Phil Grabsky's exhaustive documentary doesn't exactly dispel any stereotypes about Beethoven's being a shaggy genius prone to rages.

WHAT'S F'N NEXT? CAVEMAN | February 20, 2013 Most people are probably sick to death of Brooklyn being a hipster's paradise where dinks with moustaches tatted on their fingers drive fixed-gear bikes to Williamsburg bars to pay $6.50 for a can of PBR.